Youth activists are providing Kathmandu’s street vendors with broad umbrellas to protect them
from hot sun and rains made more frequent by climate change. “Helping Urban Poor Adapt to
Climate Impacts” tapped corporate sponsors for a first round of vendor umbrellas, which gave
dignity to a disadvantaged segment of the city’s population. The project is also planning to
train poor families in urban agriculture.

The increased frequency and intensity of rain storms in Kathmandu due to a changing have impacted the
city’s thousands of street vendors, who lack shelter from the elements. Unreliable rains are also
affecting the ability of families living in slum communities to grow vegetables, which feed the local
population and are a major source of income.

The solution

The National Youth Federation Nepal developed this program to
address the needs of these disadvantaged populations. They approached NCELL, Nepal’s second-largest
cellular network, and attained sponsorship of umbrellas to shelter the street vendors from the intermittent
rains and hot sun. The umbrellas, which display an advertisement for the company, were then distributed to
street vendors. The group also intends to train families living in slums on how to adapt their vegetable
gardens to changing weather patterns.

Helping the planet

Urban gardening helps to purify the air and water, and also provides microhabitats for beneficial insects
like bees and butterflies.

Helping people

The street vendors with umbrellas no longer have to suffer in the rain and sun. They’re less likely
to get sick from exposure to the elements, and can even earn a little more money since they don’t
have to disassemble their shop every time it rains. The umbrellas have also increased the dignity of this
disadvantaged group. Inhabitants of slum communities who practice improved urban agriculture can keep
earning cash from selling vegetables, and they experience improved food security.

Spillover effect

There is plenty of room for the project to be expanded, as there are thousands of street vendors in
Kathmandu who still face weather problems. Likewise, more families in slums could benefit from help in
adapting their urban gardening methods. It’s possible to replicate the project in many South Asian
cities with similar climatic conditions.